After a long and testing period for the Hindi film industry, Varun Dhawan‘s Judwaa 2 has come in and taken over the box office. People were excited about the movie from the day it was announced and staying true to what it promised, the film has performed phenomenally well. Not only has it got some decent reviews from the critics as well as the public, but it is also raking in large amounts of money at the ticket windows. We always knew Judwaa 2 would perform well, but raking in a sum of nearly Rs 60 crore over the first weekend, beating the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar at the box office, and setting new benchmarks, is something we did not anticipate from the film.

With the current market scenario and with top films like Tubelight and Jab Harry Met Sejalbeing rejected by the public, the trade was skeptical of Judwaa 2. It will either be a huge hit or it will tank at the box office, people said in closed quarters. No one was sure if the film would cross the Rs 50 crore mark during the opening weekend. And while several people speculated that Judwaa 2 would end up being another Tubelight or Jab Harry Met Sejal story, well, the figures and word-of-mouth publicity speaks for itself. Judwaa 2 has not only raked in a huge amount of money, but also become Varun Dhawan’s highest opener and opening weekend grosser ever. The film has made several records for the actor and been in top 5 list of opening day grossers for 2017, day 2 collections for 2017, opening weekend grossers for 2017 and much more.

But what enabled Judwaa 2 to earn such a huge amount at the box office? Well, first of all, the fact that it is a sequel to Salman Khan‘s Judwaa has been a huge factor. The nostalgia associated with the movie and the quest to know how this film matches up to the original meant that several people rushed to the theatres to watch it. However, the major factor has been the raw mass appeal that the film had. In fact, the film was made with the intention of drawing the pan-Indian audience. This has truly benefited the film. As trade analyst, Taran Adarsh, revealed on Twitter, “The SMASHING opening weekend biz of #Judwaa2 proves yet again that well-made mass entertainers will never go out of fashion! The ROCKING biz of #Judwaa2 hammers the fact that Studios/filmmakers need to make films for pan India audience, not for select cities/plexes.”

Judwaa 2‘s songs – Lift Teri Band Hai and Chalti Hai Kya 9 se 12 have also became a rage since they released. These hit songs, paired with a huge buzz surrounding the movie, some engaging content and a decent screen space (3500 screens) also helped the movie capitalise at the box office. Good reviews and a fantastic word-of-mouth publicity further enabled the movie to grow over the weekend and rake in the moolah.

In fact, there is a huge positive vibe around the film even now. People on social media are calling it “Entertaining,” “Varun’s best performance,” “Paisa vasool” and what not. With such a huge craze and a holiday even today (Monday – October 2), we are sure Judwaa 2 will continue to rake in the money and impress the audience. The fact that we haven’t seen such a positive buzz since Akshay Kumar‘s Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, which released several months back, is a huge feat too.

Effect on the industry

Huge releases like Tubelight and Jab Harry Met Sejal could not make an impact at the BO, with both of them ending up losing money. All this had a negative impact on the Hindi film industry and the ticket windows too. Several exhibitors and distributors faced huge losses running up to Rs 10s of crores, some even having to shut shop. Many will argue that Mubarakan, Bareilly Ki Barfi and several other films performed well. But one must realise that these films would not give the industry a huge turn over like a Dangal or even a Baahubali 2 for that matter.

However, looks like Judwaa 2 has come to Bollywood’s rescue. Not only is it raking in the moolah, but with a positive word-of-mouth publicity, we expect the film to sustain for a few weeks and help the industry get back on its feet. In fact, with a holiday even today (October 2 – Gandhi Jayanti) and no big release till October 19, we expect Judwaa 2 to extend its wings and fly from here on. According to our estimate, the film can easily make Rs 130-150 crore in its lifetime run. Though this is not a huge number, like what Dangal orSultan made, but considering the fact that Judwaa 2 was made on a smaller budget and was marketed smartly (total landed cost – Rs 60 crore approx), the return on investment will more than 200 per cent. The movie has also been sold at a lower rate (Rs 55 crore) than the aforementioned films. So not only will the makers, but the exhibitors and distributors will also make a considerable profit.

We expect the makers to make a profit in the range of Rs 50-100 crore (after the sale of satellite, digital and music rights), while the exhibitors and distributors should make a profit around about of Rs 30-50 crore, which is fantastic to say the least! This will surely help the exhibitors recover their earlier loses and sustain for an extended period of time. And with that, Judwaa 2 has turned saviour for an ailing Bollywood industry

But wait there’s more! If you remember, over the past few months, several sequels (Rock On 2, Raaz 4, Hate Story 3, Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3) and remakes (OK Jaanu) had tanked at the box office. However, with the success of Judwaa 2, it is proved that there is still a ray of hope for such films. It even proves that with the right script and proper execution, a sequel or a remake can work in Bollywood.

Positives for Varun

With Judwaa 2, Varun Dhawan was not only able to beat the collections of Shah Rukh Khan’s Jab Harry Met Sejal, Akshay Kumar’s Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Jolly LLB 2; but also create some new personal records. In fact, this was the first time a gen-next star challenged Bollywood’s ivy league, clearly proving that Varun’s stardom and potential has increased over the years.

With eight back to back hits, Varun has also established himself as one of the most bankable stars. Not only will this help his upcoming films, but also help him get a better remuneration. Super-stardom is not far for VD, he just needs to select the perfect scripts and play to the galleries, like he always does!

Learnings

The learnings from Judwaa 2 are very simple and basic. First of all, the script should be fantastic and should be laid down on paper. It should not be targeted to a single section of the audience, but should be massy and have pan-India appeal. Next up is the pre-production work and research. If you have everything in place and all the correct information, it will help execute the film better and in turn give you a better end product.

After that, one should look at the casting. Varun Dhawan replacing Salman Khan was really apt in this film franchise. If someone else were to do Judwaa 2, we don’t think the film would have worked, so the casting should be perfect. Then comes execution. If you execute a film well and edit it properly, then there is nothing that can stop your film. And last, but not the least, is the budget and promotions. We have seen several big budget films like Jagga Jasoos, Bombay Velvet, Bang Bang, A Gentleman lose huge amounts of money at the box office. Budgets should be allocated keeping in mind how much the stars associated with it can recover at the box office. The promotion and marketing of a film should be done properly too, as it will be the major factor in generating the buzz and curiosity amongst the audience and drive them into a cinema hall.

So this was our box office analysis of Varun Dhawan’s Judwaa 2. Do you also agree with it? Share with us your thoughts in the comments section below! Also stay tuned to BollywoodLife as we get you all the details about Judwaa 2‘s box office collection right here…